Parking at Kildare railway station is critical', says rail users' group

KILDARE Rail Users Group (KRUG) is calling on Irish Rail to increase the number of parking spaces available at Kildare Town railway station as it fears the current situation is "critical". KRUG spokesperson Tony O'Donnell said: "Since we held our first public meeting in early 2006, KRUG has been stressing the need for additional secure parking spaces in Kildare Station. While there has been some success in terms of relocating staff spaces, we now feel that the situation is critical. The station car park is filling entirely on a daily basis, with spaces becoming scarce well before the morning rush is finished. The result is that people are parking wherever they can squeeze in, and this inevitably means that cars are left in unsuitable locations and even blocking in other commuters."

Home owners in Fair-green Cottages and Elm Park have been hit by the overflow from Kildare railway station's car park, as reported in the Kildare Nationalist recently. Many of the commuters have chosen to park their cars outside the station, leading to problems for the residents. "The net result is chaos in the car park and an overflow into adjoining residential areas," said O'Donnell.

Local resident of Fair-green Cottages, Sean Walshe, told the Kildare Nationalist: "It might be the commuters who can't get parking, but if there is parking left in car park, they might still park on the road. They often abandon their cars where ever they can."

Another resident, Tony Barrett, said: "It is totally unfair on us as residents that we are not able to enter our own gateways with people parking in front of them. It also interferes if emergency services have to call to the park. What we would prefer is if people would not park on the road opposite our houses."

KRUG's Tony O'Donnell said: "This situation is only going to get worse in the coming years, given the amount of additional housing earmarked for the town. We are therefore calling on Irish Rail to begin planning immediately for an increased provision of spaces. We are asking them to consider a number of options, including their using lands on the Dunmurry and Rathbride side of the station, as well as relocating their engineering works in order to provide additional capacity."

A spokesperson for Kil-dare County Council said: "Kildare County Council would be generally supportive of any development that would result in a better, more efficient and more convenient use of the public transport system."

KRUG also believes that the recent works at the Red Cow roundabout have had a significant knock-on effect in driving motorists off the road and into the railway station, leading to a significant increase in parking problems at Kil-dare station. The group has been pushing for parking improvements at the station for the last 18 months, but they now say that the situation is critical as a result of a significant increase in passenger numbers.

"We hope that they respond positively, as the increase in parking demand is indicative of an increase in demand for rail services. It also shows how Kildare is increasingly becoming a park-and-ride-type facility for other towns, including Monasterevin, Athy and Portarlington, whose rail services are not as commuter-friendly as those from Kildare Town," said Tony O'Donnell. "We also ask for commuters to respect their travelling companions by parking responsibly, and by carpooling or availing of alternative transport, where available."

Aoife Barry
KIldare Nationalist

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